The end of the year is upon us. And so the our staff writers wanted to share some thoughts about the year they’ve had, including our graduating seniors!

Colvin: For myself, the transition of remote and virtual learning to in-person was the biggest juxtaposition of the year. This entire school year was a test of my scheduling skills with balancing between tons of clubs, AP classes, and sports. Despite this juggling act, I enjoyed doing so many things I loved and meeting so many people of equal excitement. As it is my last year, I often think back on my four years, but now I realize it went the exact way it should’ve. I made friends with students and teachers, worked hard on projects and tests, learned all I could, and I would never trade that for anything.

Amaya: Every year of high school wasn’t easy. This year, in particular, was the hardest. My mom got covid two days after after christmas, and I got covid a week after her. After I came back to school we had to go through remote learning for 3 weeks. I can’t learn remotely, and it made my procrastination a lot worse. This year was terrible, but I hope next year is at least tolerable.

Giona: I just have one simple statement. I do not care that much for school. I used to be a gifted child who loved school, but I gradually lost interest. This year wasn’t the best due to getting over Covid. I’m glad I’m about to graduate and now going on to focus on things that I care about more. Sorry, the teachers are great to be around, but school is just not my thing. Only being honest.

Colin: As the final year of my high school experience comes to a close, all I can really say is that it flew by. I remember walking into school after the chaotic prior year and hoping that this year would be normal with no more complications from COVID-19. It was relatively normal, I kept up with my classes and grades, balanced school and home life, and faced no real troubles. Next thing I knew it was April with about two real hard weeks of school left. Only two weeks because most of my classes are AP which have their final test early May. After those tests, the rest of my time here will be all fun and a very enjoyable time to say the least.

David: This school year was a challenge to go through, switching from being in a pandemic last year to fully back in school. As a sophomore I can say that my school experience is a lot better now than freshmen year. I was able to enjoy a lot of extra curricular activities as well as make friends with a variety of lovely people. Learning from teachers and getting an education was a lot easier this year because of it being back to “normal” and physically seeing other humans again, though personally my social anxiety skyrocketed through covid making it challenging to engage with others. Overall being back in school this year has helped my education and mental health.

Xavier: This school year, being my first in high school and in the Pine Hill school district, has been safe to say, a little stressful. Knowing barely any people didn’t help my mental health or social life, but branching out and talking to new people made my crippling social anxiety a little less crippling. Coming from remote learning, a full time in-school schedule has been a little jarring and scary, and my grades had suffered from it, but now that I’ve adjusted It’s been easier and I’m not failing school (yet).